Three's A Crowd
by Rewind Soldier
Summary: She could hear Tai give a strong laugh from across the cafeteria. Little did she know this boy was a genius for acting. Lately, it’s only been Matt and Sora. Where’s Tai in all of this? YamaxSoraxTai friendship fic. There's Sorato, cuz i can't go without.
1. His Hair

Hey, it's Tai here. "Rewind Soldier" is being a butt and refuses to say she doesn't own anything. But I'll say it for her: she's a hobo without possession of anything beyond a box. Thus, I'd laugh if she owned digimon, which she doesn't.

**So, this story is about me!!**

_Liar._

**NO!!! Not the voices again! Anything but that!**

_He's hallucinating again. Don't mind him too much._

**The voices…**

_Friendship fanf-_**thepain**-_ic YamaxSoraxTai! First cha-_**theagony**-_pter told in Tai's per-_**thedeception**-_spective__**-th-**__. Shut up Taichi!_

* * *

Three's A Crowd

Ch. 1 His Hair

Her laugh was the last thing she said to me since two years ago, if you can even call that saying anything. Sometimes crowds just don't mesh, I guess. Since we entered high school, cliques became more of the thing to be in. I couldn't help it; I really wanted to be someone important in my high school days. Consequently, with newly found popularity, a past was lost.

The bell rang that liberated the famished faces of monsters through the doors to the cafeteria. I walked in, alongside my long-time friend, Yamato. "Hey dude, meet you outside at the huge tree thing?" He grinned (which caught a lot of girl's attention) and headed for the next set of doors. Sometimes I envied my best friend's natural popularity, though I could easily do without the horde of monstrous trolls, otherwise known as his fan club.

"Yup. See you out there!" I turned to enter myself into the lunch line. Jumping into line, the hairs moved smoothly with my travels. It had been a couple years since the last haircut, and the next wouldn't be for a while either.

"Hey Tai." I could recognize that voice anywhere. Sora smiled at me as she joined me in the line of too many people. Since high school, Sora entered the tennis club and sort of bailed out on me, completely ditching soccer. It seemed to make her happy, so I let it go. "So, how's your day been so far?" She asked me that every day, and amazingly enough, I always had a different reply.

"Hectic, if you ask me."

"Well, I wasn't asking anyone else." Her eyes narrowed with her sincere smile as we advanced forward. "Ah, I'm not thinking today. I have my own lunch. I'll see you out there okay, Tai?" She laughed at her lack of mindfulness as she raced herself outside. I smirked to myself, remembering everything that my two best friends meant to me. As I finally walked out of the line, someone caught my shoulder.

"Hey Tai. The soccer team is over there talking some strategy for our next game. Come on." Tamaki, a forward player on the soccer team, invited me to join them. Over the summer, I was already selected for the high school varsity team, which meant a lot of practice. I had practice virtually every day, and that made Sora a little mad at me. So during the summer, I became familiar with the team and spent a lot of time with them. Our first day in high school; maybe I should make up with Sora and Matt?

"Yeah. I'm there."

"Tai, what happened to you at lunch?" I entered history class next to Kai, who was another buddy on the soccer team, and faced Matt at the entrance. Kai got the clue and headed on in. I waited for a while before I said anything, but I don't know why. "Tai? You there?" He snapped his fingers in front of me and laughed. "You're more spaced than usual today."

"Whatever. Yeah, sorry about lunch. The soccer dudes wanted me over to talk over some stuff. We've got a big tournament coming up." I looked at him, slightly taller than me. His eyes told me he was not amused.

"Sora got worried about you again. I know she was kidding, but she started going on about how you could have been-"

"Class is about to start." I rubbed my words in between his, and headed for a desk next to Kai's group. Matt's cold glare could be felt stabbing me from behind. I laughed, entering the conversation and saw Matt pass me in my peripheral view. I watched him sit down in the back corner by himself. 'Whatever' I told myself over and over, hoping the feeling of guilt would go away. It would go away soon, right?

From that day on, our freshman year, I was always with the soccer buds. I had a couple of classes with Sora and Matt, but never talked to them. And perfectly coincidental, our jock table was in perfect view through the doors and outside to where Sora and Matt always sat together. I got used to those two throwing angry or sad looks at me; you could guess who gave what look. Let's just say I've had training to be immune to them. The whole freshman year, I've probably said a sum of twenty words to either Matt or Sora, which was all in the first day. But then sophomore year came and, things got a little rocky.

I was walking out of our lunch period with the whole mass of people laughing it up. Among all the cliques, the jocks had the advantage, which I was proud to be a part of. Half way through our second year, and we became a bursting popularity. We walked down the hall with our egos held high, and that's when I saw a familiar head of red.

"Sora?" I fell behind the group and stood, facing her. Her head was stuck in a book as she sat down next to her open locker. She looked up, surprised to see me.

"Yeah." Obviously, she was still a bit fuming about what happened between us. I looked her over in her school skirt. I've never thought of Sora more than a sister and friend, but I can still say she looked cute, even with her slim face silently screaming at me through expression.

"Uh," I muttered uneasily. She showed disinterest as she directed her eyes back to her book. I ran my hand through my hair, then remembered the reason I hadn't cut it for years, "Hey, so I saw you over here by yourself. I was kinda worried. Where's Matt?"

"No where that concerns you." I watched her breathe in deeply and stare up at me. "Are you done? I want to get going." She stood and closed her locker. Sora looked at me once more before stalking off and becoming a part of the mob of students. I sighed and began walking the other way. Down the hall, and on the opposite side of her locker, was my locker. I grabbed a few things and turned back in the direction I had just come from. I saw her again; she went back to the locker after I left. It sort of rubbed me in the wrong way. I felt anger rising inside and saw Matt approaching. Seeing a friend's locker right by Sora's, I hid behind him and waited to hear from my two former friends. "Hey Yama. How was practice?" That's where he was? He left Sora by herself during lunch to play stupid little tunes? At the time, I could care less, Sora was infuriated me earlier, and it wouldn't end soon.

"It was fine. The usual, but really Sor. You should come with me. I hate leaving you behind." I watched the blonde put his hands on Sora's shoulders pleadingly. He swung her back and forth, causing her to laugh.

"But I don't want to disturb you guys. You said you guys had a special gig coming up, so I don't want to jeopardize any chances you have." She snuck in a hug to her best friend before putting away her book in the locker. "If you've ever had any." She added making Matt give her a fake hurt expression. She giggled and nicely pushed him away. They looked happy, which I thought I would have also been happy to see, but I really wasn't. Something was boiling inside of me that wanted to see them miserable. Maybe I should cut my hair.

* * *

What's so important about his hair? Geez. Big macho voice that I can't do… Find out next time, on Three's A Crowd! 

Haha…. I don't know. Don't even ask, lol.

_You're a morbid little child aren't you._

Who said that!? Yamato? TAICHI?!!!!!

_Whaaaat? What ever happened to freedom of speech? Huh? But it wasn't me._

Indefinite cackle _Oh I'm sure it wasn't Tai._ Beware; you already know what I can do to you… ALL OF YOU!!! Don't make me step it up and go all out on _Dragon tales_. (Not mine. If you haven't read my little doo-dahs on my first fanfic (I'll Always Be) you probably wouldn't understand.)

Okay! THANKS SO MUCH! Hope you enjoyed, please review!


	2. Immortal

Three's A Crowd

Ch. 2 Immortal

Between her giggles, a sudden burst of whispers aroused alongside the sound of the door opening. She sat on her desk, facing her best friend, and a beautiful view of the outside world through a window. "Sit in your chair please, Takenouchi." Sora swung around, looking at the teacher who had been staring at her (along with the rest of the class, which was already seated). She flushed red as she found her way to the chair below her. Matt poked her with a pencil only to mock her. She turned around again to send him a non-entertained expression. Being successful with that, Matt gave a resigning smile. She continued to gawk in his direction, but wasn't looking at him. By every second, her eyes felt like they were getting pulled out of her head. The blonde noticed her odd gaze, and took a look for himself.

"Tai?" They asked in unison and shock.

"Yes, Yagami is your classmate; congratulations, you've been welcomed to the light after a good few weeks of this class. Now that we've partied, get over it. Goodness Takenouchi. What is with you today?" The old man pushed his dark glasses onto his forehead to look further to the backside of the classroom. Sora looked back at the teacher for a moment before her gaze fell back on to her former friend.

"Let's have a class discussion." Sora pointed out timidly.

"I would love to!" A friend of Sora's chimed in, trying to help her out a little. The auburn headed girl was almost burning in her own curiosity. Matt poked her, trying to remind her to stay calm. On first impression, most would think sweet Sora was the one that would help recompose the rebellious Yamato, though it was definitely vise versa in many instances. Sora took a deep breath as she smiled at the blonde, knowing his soft intentions. "So why did you cut your hair, Taichi?" her friend continued, despite the confliction that the teacher brought about.

"I got tired of it." His voice was heard in a deep nonchalant murmur. A noticeable silence and turn of heads caught Tai's attention. "Why does every body care? It's none of your business." He took a deep breath and sighed, distinctly making sure Matt and Sora could hear it in front of him.

"Well said Yagami. Resuming to class—yes Takenouchi." The man behind the thick glasses rolled his head in annoyance at the very instant the girl's hand shot up in the air.

"I love your eternally long lectures with all my heart and all, but I think we all want to hear more about Tai." Even with her calm exterior, both Matt and Tai knew out of experience that she was about to explode in utter madness.

"One more time and you're outside Takenouchi. No more outbursts, understand?"

"Obviously not, I think Tai should explain why he's become such a jerk over the-" her sharp voice suddenly ended with the sound of a book being slammed against a desk. The class looked back at the brunette with visibly shorter hair. He stood next to his desk with a hand over the book lying on the desk.

"Get over yourself! I'm tired of you! Not everyone can be friends forever!" With that, Sora's short fuse was lit, and loud shouts and bickering between the two fired off like an amazing light show. In between every few phrases, the teacher's tone could be heard as background noise; all of a sudden, the teacher blew and let out an incredible yell that silenced everyone. Sora was standing next to Matt's desk, still facing Tai with no less than a pissed off expression. She inhaled deeply and looked down, seeing Matt with his head down on his desk in her peripheral view. He was clearly not very pleased with how the first period of the day played out. As the teacher fixed his glasses and silently decided what to do with the "off-task" students, Sora kneeled next to the blond and waited for his reaction. She knew that he was aware that she was right there, but didn't do anything to bring forth a conversation.

"Matt…" she whispered worriedly, a complete turn over from her last outburst.

"No time to flirt Takenouchi." The man at the front of the class waved a small paper at her and pointed at the door. She headed to the front of the class and looked back at Matt, and couldn't help but to notice Tai smirking at her from behind her best friend. "Oh Yagami, don't look so smug, you won't be parted from Takenouchi for long; both of you are in the office in less than 2 minutes. Well, since you're both athletic, I'll make it one minute. If you two aren't down there in 60 seconds, trust me, Principal Aoki won't be any happier to see you two." He smiled with a face of satisfaction. The teacher wasn't kidding; a 3-minute travel in less than a minute was going to be a bit of trouble. Without argument, Sora pushed her way out the door, Tai following at a distance.

"So what's about Sora and Tai that I hear of?" Takeru asked his brother who wasn't in the best mood. They sat alone in the band room with a somber air.

"You know I love Sora to the ends of the earth, but she and Tai are complete idiots." Matt strummed the strings with more force than intended, which surprised TK. It had been a long time since he last saw his unsurprisingly popular older brother so upset. The taller blonde sat cross-legged on an amplifier with his bass and stroked it softly. With Matt, the mood was always cool at the least, but TK began feeling only an atmosphere of frustration. "But I feel terrible now. After the whole ordeal in first period, which I don't want to talk about right now, I kind of ignored Sora for the rest of the day. I got so fed up; I just didn't want to talk at all. I bet Sora's feeling like crap right now too."

"You know I do." Sora walked in slowly with her head still down. She smiled weakly at TK and looked at Matt strumming the strings, avoiding any contact.

"I'll talk to you later, k Matt?" TK put his hand on her shoulder for reassurance and left.

"May I sit next to you?" Still holding his bass, he moved over on the amplifier with no emotion of any sort. She sat next to him and felt their shoulders touch. With less than a single thought, Sora wrapped her arms around Matt's neck and held him tightly. He was stubborn and didn't accept the embrace, just sat there doing nothing. "Yama, I can't stand this." He could feel her shaking. He knew she was already in tears that couldn't be stopped. His hands released the bass as it hung on its strap. Matt gave in and pulled Sora tight to him. Needless of words, the two came to an equal understanding and almost resumed to life as it had been before.

"You know, I never thought Tai would be the one to leave us." Matt thought out loud, suggesting the very subject Sora had been trying to avoid all night. Sora gave him a look telling him that she was still uncomfortable with the matter. He intentionally brought it up, knowing she'd feel that way. "Sora,"

"Forget it. Just a thought, it's scary to think one day we're going to be old and wrinkly."

"You're thinking like Mimi again." He laughed softly at her as he looked outside through the window. He took a deep breath, soaking in the glowing of the stars.

"No, not exactly. I was going to say, we're going to be old and wrinkly, and without Tai. I honestly never had a thought before that the three of us might be separated somehow. Which reminds me! Yamato," A small smile found its way against her soft skin as she sat up, facing the blonde, "If you leave me, you're DEAD!" She pushed him off the crate they were on top of and laughed as the boy rubbed his head.

"Same goes for you, red!" He leaned to push her. She laughed and lied down, causing him to miss. Matt found himself on the hard floor once more. He moaned and gave up as he spread out on the shiny surface. She joined him on the floor as a harmless silence engulfed the thin atmosphere.

"I honestly always thought Tai, you, and me could never be separated. It seems like he forgot us, what he meant to us. I swear, if I didn't leave a hole in Tai's head, you sure would have!" Sora bore a heavy heart as she reminisced slowly.

"You know... being a digidestined and all, we're like super heroes." Matt smiled smug to himself. "You'd think we were like immortal or something, though it's anything but that. It's almost like I expect to live forever."

"I don't even know how long forever is and yet... I promised,"

_xxx_

_"No! You give her your dollar!" Taichi's voice rung in their ears like it would never end._

_"I'll pay you back, I promise." The short little red head stood between them as they bickered in front of the ice cream cart in the middle of the park. She looked at them in wonder as the older man behind the counter just stared._

_"You have your money out! If I give it to her, I'll have to dig it out of my pocket again!"_

_"You sure need the exercise anyway!" The mind of a child... truly amazing._

_"Forget it! I'll starve!" Sora yelled at her friends and stalked away. An angry little girl, stomping away from two small boys, would not make a good impression in any way._

_"Sora!" with a pout on her face, she turned around to be confronted with two ice cream cones almost touching her face. "We're sorry. Take this please." Little Yamato looked down at the ground, hiding his blush as his hand continued to hold the slowly melting ice cream._

_"Yeah, we're sorry Sora." Taichi was pouting as well and tried to smile when he noticed she was looking at him._

_"Aw! I love you guys!" The mood suddenly did a flip reverse backwards turn around as Sora brought them both into a hug. "Hey, can you guys promise me something?"_

_ "Yeah, yeah, I promise to buy you ice cream every summer until forever ends!" Tai raised his hand and pulled out his famous... charismatic... childish... almost retarding grin and let it sit there on his face like drying cement. He suddenly lost his 'happy' when Sora grabbed his wrist and put it down, then grabbing the other and putting it up._

_"Your right hand, Tai."_

_"That was my...! Oh..." His crystal-like brown eyes watched as his hands made L-shapes. The attention was suddenly adverted to Yamato who was watching the two silently._

_"Uh, I promise to bring you guys here to this very park every summer, even if I have to castrate you then do it." The blonde said calmly, momentarily sending his two friends into a state of fright._

_"And I promise I'll tell you both how much you mean to me, forever!" She pulled them into another hug and whispered, "I love you guys so much." She felt their small bodies close in into a three-way embrace. "Promise me one more thing, will you please?" Sora's arms wrapped tightly around each of the boy's arms. "Promise we're going to stay by each other forever."_

_"Promise." _

_xxx _

"Sora. Maybe forever isn't the best word, but I want to be by you forever."

He forgot... didn't he.

* * *

Short but smug chapter. What's going to happen next? (Haha, I've revised this so much it's not short anymore...) 

Sora: Does Tai get liposuction?

Tai: Why in the world would I need that!?

Matt: No one says you need it.

Sora: Exactly, then hopefully all your JERKALITY will go away in this story. I hate you Tai. And I thought we were the bestest of friends!

His "JERKALITY" ain't gonna leave any time soon, so get comfortable with it! We still don't know what's up with Tai and his hair do we? Well... right now I don't know either so! We're on the same boat... floating away... int_o space... past the space cows_... somewhere along those lines.


	3. Gravity

Ch. 3 Gravity

She remembered the weight of his body and the rest of the team's pushing down from on top of her. She scored the winning goal for their last soccer tournament as a team. She called them the heaviest people to ever walk the earth, making holes in the ground every step they took.

-

She smacked the ringing alarm clock on her dresser and positioned herself in a curled ball, finding herself satisfied inside the warmth of her blankets. Sweet warmth was a simple pleasure that Sora was grateful for. "Morning sweets of Candy Land!" Very grateful.

"This is ridiculous." Sora whispered coldly into her blankets while holding them tightly, knowing what was up next.

"Come on!" A pair of hands gripped her fleece blankets and yanked them away from her, still half asleep.

"I hate you." She mumbled melodically and hammered a pillow in the intruder's direction.

"That's definitely not the nicest thing I've ever heard you say."

"Yeah, whatever." A silence was pulled over and sent Sora into a deep wonder. "You still there Tai?" She sat up on her bed. No body was there. "Taichi?" She had been dreaming. "Screw it all!" Sora screamed into her pillow. She couldn't deny it any more; she really missed her best friend and that ball of fluff, which he called his hair. This morning had been a bad start for her. Not even a moment awake, and she was already dreaming up the impossible that she so dearly wanted to reach so soon. But reality was that she wasn't going to reach that oasis that seemed so pleasing in her mind. She didn't know when she would find that happiness again, or if she ever would.

-

"Is he ever going to shut his mouth and let the rest of us work in peace?" Sora's voice grumbled to the blonde sitting behind her. First period class was a dread like it always was. The boy wasn't enjoying it any more than she was though. Sora had been complaining about Tai all morning, and he really wasn't doing anything. "Ugh, some one needs to go over there and shut him up."

"Sora, you know he's really not doing anything wrong. We _are_ doing a group project; that usually needs social interaction." Her best friend tried to reason with her, knowing he wouldn't get very far. She was crazily stubborn. She only looked at the blonde, not commenting back or anything. Sora dug her pencil into his desk while she was turned around in her chair, facing him. The class suddenly went silent, just one of those awkward moments when nothing happens. And abruptly, Sora's pencil snapped. Eyes from all over the classroom followed their ears to see Sora fuming about nothing. She screamed to herself, well what was meant for only her ears to hear.

"Excuse me Miss Takenouchi, do you need a moment outside?" The old man at the front of the room adjusted his dark glasses to look at his troubled student. Every one watched as she silently made way towards the door, in a similar fashion to the instance before when Sora and Tai had their all out battle. Inside the classroom, it stayed quiet. Whispers were even scarce.

"Mr. Maori, may I go to the restroom?" The tall blonde's eyes shot up and looked back to see who was asking. With his lean figure, Tai stood by his desk, waiting for permission. The blonde had a distrustful feeling with Tai leaving the room. The aging man acknowledged him as the bushy headed kid walked calmly into the hall. The blonde observed his every move until he was out of sight. A regretful sigh escaped his lips.

Rubbing his short hair, Tai found himself standing in the hallway. He stood there for a while; not knowing what he intended to do. Looking around, he saw Sora to his right facing the wall, taking in long heavy breaths. He watched her for a while, not thinking about anything, then walked the other direction. Tai was in and out of the bathroom within a second. This way he wouldn't be lying if someone asked where he had been. It was something his dad had taught him.

Tai was never allowed to lie as he grew up; lying was a big deal in his family. Tai's dad was a great person and a dedicated father and husband, which sometimes got him stressed out. He'd be in places that he said he would be at, but in other places too. Tai picked it up when his dad forgot to take him home from one of his soccer games.

"Today?" Tai was walking back towards class and heard Sora from the other end of the hall. He quietly approached the door and listened to her conversation with a boy that seemed faintly familiar. "I don't know about today, I'm kind of busy with tennis after school." Her voice came again, sounding bothered.

"Come on Sora. It's been a couple years; it'd be fun wouldn't it?" Tai's memory hit him again when he heard the tone in the kid's voice. Chikara was an old teammate on their soccer team back in middle school. But, what was he doing here? He had gone to a different high school a little further east. "Hey! It's Tai!" He panicked once he had been discovered, but he couldn't get out of this one. Slowly and soundlessly, Tai joined them to form a triangle, keeping as far away from Sora as possible. "Good to see you Tai! Nice hair cut by the way." Sora sharply sent a glare at Tai, which he tried to ignore. "I was just talking to Sora about a reunion for our soccer team today." His excited tone was the exact opposite of what Tai and Sora were feeling. "Um, sorry for not being able to notify you guys about this earlier?" Chikara asked, not comprehending the mood the two were in. "Most of the team is coming though." His voice died out when he had no response.

"I'll be there. I don't know about Sora though." Tai began as if he were challenging her. Tai and Sora exchanged intense expressions, leaving Chikara out cold.

"Yeah, I'll be there." She finally agreed and accepted the challenge.

"Okay then. It's a done deal. After school, we'll all meet at our old soccer field. Sound good?" They acknowledged his proposition and went on talking for a while. Chikara kept most of the conversation going, realizing neither of the other two was willing enough. "I'll have to catch up with you guys later today. Gotta run, see you guys there!" He sprinted off, obviously yet to loose his athletic spark. With his departure, he left the awkward situation to hang loose. Sora and Tai stood there for a moment silently.

"Ta-" Sora began, but was interrupted by the opening of their classroom door. Mr. Maori stepped out and spotted the two.

"Get back into class! It's been well over 15 minutes!" Neither of them moved, "Start walking!" He threatened. Sora took that warning and stepped towards the aged man. Sora felt a hand wrapped around her wrist, then pulling her the other way, one of the last things she would expect, "Get back here! You'll regret it!" Sora looked ahead to see Tai with a smug grin plastered on his face as he ran down the hall. In no time, Mr. Maori had the vice principals and hall monitors chasing after them. Sluffing right before their eyes. Sora had some feeling of satisfaction and relief when she and Tai lost sight of the school grounds and school administration.

"What are you doing, you idiot!" The fiery-headed girl shouted in his face, taking her wrist out of his grip. Even with the release of tension she felt, she had to deny it only because Tai was there. If it had been anyone else, she might have thanked him or her, but it was Tai.

"Don't lie to yourself, you know that felt good." He put his hands behind his head leisurely with an arrogant tone. Sora was slightly taken aback and felt a soft flush of red overcome her cheeks. He took the initiative to start walking. He left Sora standing there. Anger burned in her eyes, watching him ignore her. Despite her extra boost of hatred, she was still curious about Tai's intentions.

"Why did you take me with you?" She ran to catch up with the brunette and walked by his side. It had been years since she last walked at his side. Secretly, Sora was happy. No one was supposed to know that though. She looked up at him, waiting for an answer. As she waited, she observed his face. He had changed so much since the last time she got a close up look of his face. The tone in his skin had gotten darker. She figured it was from all the time Tai spent outside with the soccer jocks. His cheek bones seemed to have relaxed and weren't as high and visible as they used to be. His skin was pulled tighter to his face, having become more lean than necessary. Not realizing he was looking at her, she gazed right into his eyes. They became a darker brown and reflected dully.

"Why did I take you with me?" He restated as if asking himself for the answer because he didn't know. "You were right there. I guess it was spur of the moment." He replied bluntly. She was still watching him closely. Tai was well aware of her constant stare, but chose to ignore it. A sudden smile appeared across his face, "There's something I want to show you." He started walking. Sora had the choice. If she wanted to go with him, she would.

"Where are we going?"

"The park." He stopped, barely reaching the edge of the park. "Turn around and wait here." Sora felt his familiar hands on her shoulders as he made her spin, facing away from him. She had a strong urge to turn around see what he was doing, and walk away if necessary. Her mind kept pushing, but her body wouldn't respond to it. If he ditched her there like that, she would have- "Here." Her warm eyes widened as she gawked at him.

"You went and bought me ice cream?" She accused him like she found the murderer in a homicide case. She watched the cone hold its unmoving position in Tai's hands.

"Eat up. At the rate you're eating it, you'll take all day to finish the rest of them." He shoved it into Sora's hands and stepped back.

"What do you mean the rest of them?"

"You see Sora, I've been disloyal to my promise for about three years. You've got two more to gulf down after that one. Eat faster!"

"Tai, it doesn't really work like that. You can't back out on a promise for three years and make up for all of that time at once. You can't expect us to forgive you all of a sudden." A sad tone aroused in Sora's small whisper as her hand pushed away the ice cream cone for Tai to take back.

"I have to start somewhere."

"Tai."

"Am I right? You can't go anywhere without taking your first step. It doesn't matter how big it is, where it is, or the quality of the step, fall over by gosh, you just need to start somewhere."

-

"What the freak? Get up! Get up!!" A voice screamed as loud as it would go.

"Okay! Okay! I've got it!" Tai's hands began sweating in his tight grip around the controls. "YEAH!" He screamed, satisfied with his victory. A childish grin appeared distinctly on his face as he stepped off the small platform. "High score, right here! Give me some!" He let off his crazy laugh that drove Sora mad. She beamed and gave him a high five. "That's what I'm talking about!"

"Ew, that's gross. Go wash your hands." She sent him off towards the bathroom in the arcade. It was barely two in the afternoon. They spent all morning together, sluffing class of course. "Tai, it's already two, we have to start heading to the park if we want to make it on time." She explained once he came back from the restroom.

"Okay, but wait! I want to use these tickets first, alright?" She gave him the whatever expression and slowly followed the child towards the prize counter. He was going at lightning speed and already had what he wanted at hand. "Here, this is for you." He grinned and opened Sora's palm to put something small and fluffy in it. She looked down,

"It's a key chain of a T-Rex!" Sora tried to sound enthusiastic. She was thankful, no doubt, but why a thing that was supposed to be a dinosaur that resembled a rat more than a T-Rex. "Thanks Tai." She gripped the toy tighter, as if afraid to loose it. Sora flung her arms around Tai's shoulders to give him a tight embrace, almost choking him. She didn't ever want to let him go. At any time at all, it would be too soon. That thought triggered her deeper thinking and felt something stabbing her back; it was just a reminder of what could happen. She instantly pulled away from Tai, and saw a confused expression. He let it go and started walking outside. There was a such thing as distance that she had to keep between the two of them. She wouldn't let herself be betrayed again and hurt more.

"Hurry up!" Tai said repeatedly along their ten-minute travel from the arcade to the park. Sora had been trailing behind him since they left the arcade, watching Tai like she couldn't trust him anymore, even though she had been doing so all day. He did nothing to change her mind, but she had different ideas. She smiled weakly as she passed him and spotted their old friends in a group gathered in the middle of the soccer field. "Guys!" The group went into an all-out frenzy as the two ran to join them.

"Haha, no surprise to see you two coming together!" A jet-black haired boy, as lean as every other soccer player there, shouted with laughter as he put his arms around Tai and Sora. He and the others laughed melodically while the two smiled awkwardly. It was actually the surprise of her life. To Sora, though hoping for this, she never thought of being friends with him again was possible. Sora tried to hide her sadness and looked out, away from the crowd she was drawn into. Her eyes caught onto the hazel-eyes of someone else. Chikara was looking straight at her, catching on to the hostility between the once best friends. She smiled mildly at him and looked away.

"Oh! Tell us about your new girlfriend, Masami!" Chikara butted in, adverting the attention towards the same black haired athlete. Tai and Sora were completely unaware of it, but Chikara saved them from a whole lot of heartache. The hazel-eyed boy smiled to himself, watching Masami tell of his new partner, but not listening. He felt an inner satisfaction, unknown to the world. He protected two people important to him, that was all he needed.

"Hah!! I told you we'd win!" Sora screamed at the other half of the team, burning in the exhilaration when she scored the winning goal for their first soccer competition in years. She yelped as the weight of Tai's body and the rest of the team's pushed down from on top of her. "Gosh! You guys have got to be the heaviest people to ever walk the earth!" She tried to shout with the limited amount of room for her lungs to breathe. She slowly pushed the laughing boys off of her. "You guys make holes in the ground when you take a step don't you?" She finally said clearly as Tai grabbed her hand to pull her off the ground.

"And you know it!" They laughed like old friends should as the soccer ball sat alone by the goalie's net. Suddenly, they burst out into roaring laughter when a boyish topic came up. Sora rolled her eyes and went to retrieve the ball. Soccer. She missed soccer.

"Hey Sora, want me to take you home? It's past five already." Tai offered. He walked out of his crowd of long time friends to offer her his service. Sora grinned and nodded. "Guys! We're off! Make sure to call!" The brunette yelled even though he was already plenty loud for everyone to hear. The large group exchanged sad goodbyes and hugs. "You're here." He said with the most tender voice she had ever heard from him. The entire walk to Sora's place hadn't been quiet, but had a very still feeling between them.

"Why'd you cut your hair Tai?"

"Good night Sora." He left a reserved smile for Sora to remember before he turned his back to her.

-

"You won't believe it! We've finally got the gap between us gone!" Sora nearly shouted it out like it was everybody's business. She jumped and hugged her friend. "I can't even believe it!" They walked into the lunchroom, Sora almost falling over from the excitement running through her. "What a coincidence!" She grinned childishly, seeing Tai standing alone at the other end of the lunchroom. She raised up her hand to wave at him. A surge of happiness flew through her when his sweet eyes made contact with hers. Sora let the moment sink in, they were staring at each other with no bitterness behind it. Sora let a smile form on her lips for him, but was met without a reply. The naive red headed girl put up her hand to invite him to come over when his eyes rejected her and turned to find anyone else but her. "That's right. Walk away." She whispered to herself, denying that she just faced with a cold shoulder. She laughed shortly to herself, walking away like her friend was never there. She didn't want to feel sorry for herself, but she couldn't face it. Bitterness overtook her again. Placing her hand against something soft, hanging from her bag, she yanked it off and threw it at the wall. "Stupid T-Rex." A cold mumble escaped her trembling lips as she picked it up, only to throw it rightfully into the garbage.

Sora could hear Tai give a strong laugh from across the cafeteria. Little did she know this boy was a genius for acting. Sora sat closely next to her best friend on top of the lunch tables and laughed softly together. Her head brushed gently against the blonde's shoulder.

"Hey...?" Sora asked suddenly, a change from their previous mood.

"Yeah?"

"Is it okay to miss Tai?"

"Yeah." Gravity was what pulled Sora down to earth and welcomed her to reality. It was the same force that kept her childhood memories from falling apart. It was what kept the heaviest people to ever walk the earth to stay on the earth with her.

Reality was… even if they wanted to be together, their lives kept pulling them apart. That is reality.

* * *

[Revised slightly because I found a flaw... Hahahahha!! This chapter was a lot longer than the other two. Just a special fact, Chikara will PROBABLY make a HUGE difference in the storyline!! He's special . Haha, for some reason, my plan was to not mention YI's name in this chapter too much, because it's none of his business! I thought it was an interesting concept, since I love YI so much! Okay! Hope you liked that! 

This has been... Three's A Crowd


	4. Heaven

Disclaimer!: I honestly don't own a single bit of digimon, honestly.

Okay, well… this chapter is interesting, I'd say, but IT ACTUALLY GOES SOMEWHERE IN THIS CHAPTER!! Yeah, my stories are weird, like… the big plot is one chapter long, and close to last chapter of the story… that's just weird. There's a lot of background in this part, but I'd say it's quite interesting. And you find out about **His Hair** in this chapter! Now, that's reason enough to read the entire chapter, hint, hint. Haha… yeah, well I hope you enjoy!!

Ch. 4 Heaven

It's every time I look at him, I just have this weird feeling cradled inside of me, like a strong urge to confess my true feelings to him. It's like I want to send something so nicely wrapped to his doorstep. In my mind, it would be the most beautiful pink package, so much that he couldn't wait to open it. And when he did, hearts, arteries, and blood vessels would explode in his face and tear up every limb he's ever moved. It would be my gift to him; expressing my long unearthed hatred and feeling of putrid grossness I've felt towards him. Yes, so it is true that Yamato Ishida isn't the one to talk; but just because I don't say my thoughts and feelings out loud, it doesn't mean I don't have any. There's this loathing feeling I get when I sit next to Taichi in Chemistry lab. It's almost an uncontrollable disgust that wants to see his face melt.

The day that we saw Tai had cut his hair, I had that exact same feeling, and I thought I could never live a second more as long as I was in the same room as he. Call it childish, but he and Sora were the only people that mattered to me at a time in my life, and every childish promise we made still affects me to this day.

"Tai, seriously, I'm being totally serious, like 100 percent for real… cut your hair." I recall the intensity in Sora's voice when she shoved his head into the wall. He moaned and ran his hand through his precious brunette hair. I sat in the sidelines as they argued. Suddenly,

"NOOO!" Tai screeched like a three-year-old and looked like he was at the break of tears. Just then, I realized the dangerous situation: Tai loved his hair all too much and Sora had scissors.

"Geez, what's your deal anyway?" Sora folded her arms after throwing the scissors back onto the desk. We watched Tai sigh in relief and relaxing, though he should have been smarter. Sora was still in perfect reach of the scissors and plenty strong enough to bring Tai into submission.

"It's nothing." Glares… Sora's fingers twitched towards the scissors, "JUST KIDDING!" He screamed humorlessly. "I just like my hair, okay?"

"No."

"FINE!" His posture fell into a curve, "It's been a while since the whole digital world incident, right? Don't get me wrong, the evil guy plot to submerge all worlds in massive death and chaos was always bad, but I miss it." He shuffled his feet, hanging in the air. He dropped down to lie on the bed and lazily put his arms at rest beneath his head. "Last week, mom was terrible and gave away all my stuff from that time to the shelter. I'm not a bad guy!" He shouted for his unnecessary defense, "I'm always willing to give, I mean, I totally have the giving spirit! Go giving! But really, all I have left from that time is my hair. I even gave Davis my goggles, man. I know memories are all I need to keep it all with me, but… I want something physical that I can hold to reassure me that it actually happened." The next thing I knew, Sora rammed into Tai for an embrace. Suddenly she let out her soft giggles and messed with his hair,

"Then can I have a chunk?"

"Nooo!" He shouted, feeling defensive again. "It's not just a souvenir Sor! I gotta look good for the ladies too!" Sora and I burst out into an unstoppable roaring laughter.

But it's been years since then. Obviously, none of that matters to him anymore. I can't help but to feel like we got played. Cutting his hair is like denying that we exist, denying what he wanted to make sure was real, making everything a lie. We made so many promises and so much deception. As children, it really shouldn't change anything about me, but it changes me entirely.

"There you are!" I became alarmed when I heard the shrill voice of the woman I forcefully called my mother. A few years after the divorce, I was still feeling abandoned by my mom; she took TK instead of me. My dad wasn't in the best condition for being a parent after the divorce, and I felt hatred toward my mom for leaving me like that. "Come on, honey. Let's get out of the closet and see your dad."

"Leave me alone!" I screamed at her and burst out towards my only exit. Dad got into a car accident a mere hour prior and I wasn't in the mood to go anywhere, especially with her. I brushed past her, running far from home and just kept running. Even when I was 10, I was rebellious against my parents. It was an April morning, and the rain showers wet the earth with a tranquil coat of redemption, something that was rare in my eyes. I found my favorite spot to hide and sat down at the edge of the docking harbor. Wooden crates piled high above me, completely concealing my existence. I watched ships come by and leave, and watched the sun taunt me as it slowly passed the middle of the sky. Past noon, I heard people walking around near by, probably the workers.

"There you are!" A concerned voice almost yelled at me. There was no escape. I just sat there, watching the water and ignoring them as well as I could. "Geez Matt, you had us worried!"

"Yup." Tai said shortly and stumbled over the boxes. I looked up at them for a quick second and turned away immediately. The only two people that knew me well enough to know where I would be were climbing down from the tall lumber crates. They sat beside me the rest of the day, just watching the peaceful water as it was occasionally disturbed and became ruthless waves. For a moment, it felt like nothing else was happening. "_Well, there goes heaven_," I said, ruining the silence that stood so tall among the three of us.

It was one of the famous lines said by a blonde man who was one of the swindling main characters from my favorite TV show from when I was a kid. Every word of that show still walks my mind like they own it. The children's program was called Peacock, but was short-lived and taken off the air because of popularity, rather the lack of popularity. It was my favorite because it was so controversial; the only thing that could get my mom and dad to talk to me at the same time. They were always arguing, but this was just a children's television show and it wouldn't matter if you were wrong. One time before the divorce, dad decided he wanted to watch Peacock with me while mom was still at work, a chance to get ahead. The theme for this episode was life after death; no wonder it was short-lived. (Some children's TV program, talk about educational.) I watched that important supporting blonde character die a dramatic death from a horrid car accident in the dark rain and it then left for a commercial. As a child, it was my natural responsibility to ask dad, "Where do dead people go?"

"Well, you see son. No one really knows where people go when they die."

"Your father is a liar!" A shoe suddenly invaded my dad's personal bubble around his is large ego-filled head. I saw my mom at the door, rushing in and tripping as she tried to take off her other shoe. "When someone dies, _sweetheart_," She said softly with a short death glare at dad, "he or she will go to heaven." Mom smiled at me as she finally got her other shoe off and grabbed me into a tight hug.

"Don't fill the kid's head with nonsense, Natsuko. Besides, why aren't you at work?"

"I finished my work early today. Is there something wrong with that?" There went another one of mom's famous glares that could get anyone to wet their pants. Mom was always so sweet towards people and especially her kids, but when it came to her husband, she had to put him into place. Dad was just the same. I guess mom and dad got married before they knew the full story of their partner. Mom pulled me tighter in the embrace and kissed my head. I remember looking up and seeing mom and dad laughing together right after mom sent him the threatening glare. Or maybe, they did know what they were getting into. I watched for a moment longer before they realized what they were doing, getting along. "You like mommy's explanation better don't you?" She smiled down at me and then kissing my nose, invading my space like always…

"Oh son! I was so worried!" She pulled me into an unwelcome embrace when we got home after Sora and Tai finally persuaded me to go home before dark. I didn't dare look at her, afraid of her demanding answers out of me. What was so contradictive was that I always wanted my mother to have taken me instead, but I only wished she would go away. My two friends stood outside behind me, watching me as the woman in front of me patted my face, trying to see if I was okay.

"My sanity isn't in the flesh of my face." I said coldly at her and pulled away from her thin fingers, leaving her to stare grimly at the wet concrete before the door where Sora and Tai stood quietly. Sora. Rain was Sora's favorite weather, and I loved it because she did. Rain could make her happier, even if only just a little from the most depressing mood. This time it was my fault she was still under the weather. She cared too much about me. My head was in all the wrong places. "Where's dad?" I asked, never striving from the cold aura I forcefully created, even though I was actually concerned about my dad. Even if he wasn't the best father now, I can't forget the potential he created for himself before the divorce; he was always a happy father whose only goal was to be a great dad. My mom stood silent, refraining from saying anything until she rose steadily to her feet. With a stoic breath, she calmed herself and advanced towards the door. There was nothing more to the mother-son relationship than that. I didn't want to forgive her for leaving me behind and turning me to the dark side that had always been inside of me, just unearthed.

xxx

It's as if this day is the memoir to that day, which I felt was like quite an iconic day. It was the day I declared that the relationship with my mother would be no more than to assure that TK was still sane, and also the day I realized I could always rely on my best friends, which eventually proved wrong. I've tried not to care so much anymore because it's all meaningless to the way I live now. Sora has always known how I feel about this day, and honestly doesn't want me to think about it, so it's become a tradition that we go out and do something we've never done before on this day, just to keep my head out of the hole. And because of that, I was in the parking lot just below Sora's apartment complex, waiting for her to head down and go to a yoga class she convinced me into doing. It'll be a total embarrassment, but whatever Sora wants me to do, I usually end up doing it whether I like it or not.

"Hey! Are you excited or what?" She said in a chipper voice as she sat down in the car next to me. I rolled my eyes at her and put the key into the ignition with a hidden smile. Secretly, I thought this yoga class would be interesting that I would only do once in my life. Even then, it wasn't natural; I was still a bit nervous. I started the car and waited for Sora to sit in properly.

"What are you waiting for?" I asked, a little confused. She sat cross-legged and facing me on the adjacent passenger seat. We sat for a while in a soft silence when the threatening dark sky finally let go of the rain as the drops fell yieldingly onto the windshields, which then made the outside world blurred. It was like everything that was clear and I knew was still existing was right there in the car with me. Nothing else in the world was real except my best friend, not even I was real at the moment. Everything that was happening outside didn't matter at that moment. With no words at all, she and I let the moments pass. I let out a sigh and facing ahead to a world of haziness, I closed my eyes.

"Finally!" Sending me into alarm, she shouted loudly and threw her hands up in the air, which then hit the ceiling. "Ow… See! I knew you could do it!" She laughed and reached over to pat my face like a child, in a similar fashion that my mother often used back in the day.

"You're such a spaz, Sora. What was that all about?" I asked with great suspicion. The smile on her face made me realize that everything was okay, but that didn't mean I wasn't curious.

"You finally relaxed. I didn't want to take you out somewhere and have you be tense like that the whole freaking time, Yama." The smile continued as she situated herself in the seat.

"Whoa, whoa… _you_ take _me_ out? I'm driving and paying!" I laughed behind the words of my amazing reasoning skills. Like always, she was just looking out for me, wanting me to achieve happiness past the full potential that was already there. Even if we aren't super heroes, and didn't live forever, as long as she was beside me, nothing could go wrong.

"Let's get going." She smiled, avoiding my inquiry.

"Fine, ignore me." I said, finally being able to leave the parking lot.

"Oh come on, I wasn't ignoring you."

"Oh seriously, of course you were."

"Yama! I would never do that to you."

"Uh huh. Be that way."

"Fine. YAMA!" In an instant, we were spinning and flipped on impact of another other car. The car finally settled on its side and the earth seemed to wobble. "Yamato! No! No! No! Don't loose consciousness on me!" She screamed, squeezing out of her seat belt and reaching over to me. "Open your eyes Yama, open!" My head felt light, and once again, the world was a blur. My eyes struggled to keep wide._Whatever Sora wants me to do, I usually end up doing it whether I like it or not_, but this time it was unbelievably more difficult to listen to my favorite red head; more than I ever had in my life. "Yama!!" I felt hands reaching from everywhere, trying to pull me out, but only one pair was warm. In the midst of battle through life, I just started to lose. After realizing what in truth was real in my life, some angel decided to damn me. With Sora right behind me, I was hauled out of the wrecked car and once again opened to the dark pouring sky. My best friend hovered above me as the rain kept coming, blurring everything around me, except for her.

"_Well, there goes heaven._" The rain continued to fall down like it was nobody's business as the blonde haired man said softly into the young woman's shoulder, seeing no one but her, while the television screen went dark.

xxx

_"Don't go..."_

* * *

Hah, well I hope you understood that last part, the "television screen went dark" part. Maybe I shouldn't sound so happy after that (hopefully) deep last words... In case the visual I put in my head, only went to my head, the explanation is: Yama took the quote from Peacock, and the guy from that show ironically died in a very similar fashion (I'm not saying Yama dies! I haven't decided that yet). It's like Yama's in the shoes of television character. They're sharing the same experience… Did I explain that well enough? Sorry… But I do hope you liked this!! There are two more chapters after this, thus concluding "Three's A Crowd" 

By the way, I like minimal chaptered stories… they're nice. Just thought that was some life-changing information that I had to share… (not really).

I just noticed, I like to use stuff like "In the midst of battle through life, I just started to lose." a lot...it's intereting. And uh… I lied. Chikara… probably won't have an important part in the story like I initially planned --. But yeaaaah.

TEASER:

Ch. 5 _Enough_

"Yama! Don't leave me! You idiot, don't leave!"

"Get out. Haven't you had enough fun playing with us?"

"_Yeah, is that you mom?_"


End file.
